Modern vehicles typically incorporate a wide variety of sensors and controllers, many of which (such as brake pedal actuators and accelerator pedal actuators) may be implemented as electronic “fly-by-wire” systems rather than mechanically controlled systems. Such electronic implementations avoid the bulky and costly hydraulic system components used in traditional vehicles, but since they do not provide direct feedback between the drive input and the actuator response, these assemblies are preferably monitored continuously by the controller to ensure correct functionality and to detect fault conditions. While such systems are highly effective and safe, there remains a need for systems that provide increased confidence regarding the state of the pedal actuator systems used for vehicle control.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved systems and methods capable of detecting, with a high degree of confidence, the state of pedal actuators used in vehicles and other moving platforms. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.